Mariona Vendrell and Albert Canela fell in love studying winemaking in Tarragona and started Succés Vinícola in 2011 at the tender age of 20. Based in the hills of Conca de Barberà, south-west of Barcelona in Catalonia, the couple farms organically, vineyards owned by Albert’s family which is the main source for their fruit. However they also have a deep-rooted connection with old-time growers organically farming older vineyard sites in Sarral and Barberà de la Conca.
Their humble story starts when they applied to become members of the Viver de Celleristes, an innovative project in the town of Barberà de la Conca that offers small wine entrepreneurs a fully-equipped winery to work in, housed in an early 19th-century building that was once the site of Spain’s first agricultural cooperative.
Daring to push the boundaries of what’s considered possible in the region and willing to take a different path, the focus is kept on native varieties such as: Trepat, Parelleda and Ull de Llebre (Catalunya name for Tempranillo) which have sustained the region for generations.
All work is done by hand in the predominantly old, bush-vine vineyards; grapes are picked to retain freshness but not at the expense of flavor and fruit; and only indigenous yeasts are used. The whites get a little skin contact and all the wines have a texture which reflects a true sense of place. Sulfur is rarely used but both Mariona and Albert, who between them share all the work in the vineyards, winery and marketing, maintain that they are not radical on this issue: “faced with a challenging vintage, we would not hesitate to use sulphites”.
The wines are youthful, energetic, pure expressions of the history of Catalan that are fantastic to drink or spend hours contemplating.
- Experiencia Parellada – 100% Parellada
- Cuca de Llum – 100% Tepat
- Feedback – 40% Cabernet | 30% Trepat | 30% Ull de Llebre